Zuckerberg’s Salary in 2013 Was $1

Yes, today is April Fools, though this story is not a joke. It’s not uncommon for a CEO to drastically reduce his or her salary as the firm goes public, and today news surfaced that Mark Zuckerberg did just that in 2013. The social network CEO brought home a salary of $1 last year, about half a million dollars less than he took home the year prior. He’s still one of the world’s richest people, however, with a net worth of about $27 billion. Salary aside, Zuckerberg actually made $3.3 billion in 2013, according to Bloomberg, thanks to his large share of Facebook stock.

Zuckerberg’s total compensation, however, came in at just over $600,00, and most of it was used to cover the costs of flying private jets. That was still down from about $2 million in 2012. Other executives are still raking in millions in compensation, though Bloomberg notes the figures were still well below 2012 rates. Facebook’s CFO David Ebersmann took home $10.5 million in 2013, down about $7 million from 2012, while the company’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg made $16.2 million, down about $10 million from 2012.

Typically, CEOs are among the best paid executives in a firm – sometimes that is based on the company’s performance (at least, if investors have any say). Cisco’s John Chambers took home $19.6 million in 2013, according to The Wall Street Journal. Still, others have gravitated away from the higher paying salaries. Bloomberg notes that Google’s Larry Page and Sergey Brin also have salaries of $1, and the late Steve Jobs did as well.